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AP reporter Jason Straziuso is right outside the mall right now along the police lines. Moments ago we spoke with him directly.

-Can you describe for me the scene at the mall right now? What are you seeing from your vantage point?

-The Kenyan security officials have really increased the security perimeter this morning. They pushed back the crowds that hundreds of curious Kenyans have gathered.

-And are you hearing gunfire still?

-The gunfire within the lasted an hour or two has tapered off. I haven’t already heard any. However, and I don’t know what this means. Just a little one hour ago we saw Kenyan security forces entered the mall, with what looked like a rocket-propelled grenade which seems like a really heavy weapon for this type of situation.

-How well trained  are the security forces? Are they equipped to handle a situation like this?

-In general, the low ranking low-trained guys, the answer is absolutely no. And there was a slow response yesterday. *** now a lot of resources here. The police don’t have cars, typically. They’re on foot. Security forces were arriving on foot to this emergency yesterday. However, Kenya’s elite units have been trained by the US military and Britain's military. And those guys by all accounts really know what they’re doing.  

-And so, while the initial response was a little bit slow, are the elite troops on the scene now at least?

-Yeah, they’re on the scene. They’re inside the building. They started entering the building late Saturday night in different ways. Those, of course, would be the troops that we’re hearing the gunfire from exchanges.

-And to be clear, as far as we can understand here, the motivation of this attack is not to go after westerners, but really it’s about African politics and the Somalians wanting the Kenyans out of their country. Is that a correct assessment?

-That’s correct. These hardcore terrorists understand the power of public relations. They know that hitting this upscale mall where Americans and Europeans go to eat and go to shop generates a lot of news in Europe, a lot of news in America. That’s ultimately what they’re seeking. They’re seeking to embarrass Kenya, and ultimately try to force Kenya to withdraw their troops that they have stationed in Somalia. I think that the most important issue is the number of hostages inside and angering for those hostages. That’s the next, that’s what the story is now going .

-Jason Straziuso, thank you very much.  

-Thank you.